


Stars Are Pulling at My Hair

by Sparrow (hersilentlanguage)



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), The Isle of the Lost Series - Melissa de la Cruz
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Nerds in Love, Oneshot, Romantic Fluff, United States of Auradon (Disney) Is Not Perfect, planetarium date, prompt: carvie + stargazing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:33:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26620708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hersilentlanguage/pseuds/Sparrow
Summary: In which Carlos and Evie go on a date to the Auradon Planetarium.Carlos leads her away from the bustle, toward a softer, darker corner.They both press their noses against the glass of a display case full of moon rocks.“You know,” says Evie in a voice like she’s going to admit to a secret, “I used to think they’d glow.”Carlos turns his head and smiles at her. “Me too,” he says with a trace of laughter, a trace of bliss—
Relationships: Evie/Carlos de Vil
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	Stars Are Pulling at My Hair

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt from @fuck-you-i-am-spiderman (Tumblr):** _"Carvie + stargazing"_
> 
> Had an idea to answer this prompt while I was out for a walk last night, so I immediately drafted it and finished this morning. This is my first Carvie-centric fic, and while I only ship them as part of the Rotten OT4, I don't really care if you read this as monogamous seeing as how no mention of Jay and Mal made it into this particular fic. That's by design since their presence would have changed the tone of the fic. Maybe Carlos and Evie will bring them along next time, but today, it's just two nerds being soft for space. ;)
> 
> By the way, I wrote most of this fic by night while listening to ambient space-y music and I just gotta say: highly recommended atmosphere if you feel like really digging into the mood of this fic. I hope you enjoy!
> 
>  **CW for this fic is mostly to elaborate on the "Emotional Hurt/Comfort" tag; however, since the specifics will spoil a few significant moments in the story, I've put the details in the end notes.** _Also, if you're a regular reader and you'd like me to tag for something specific in my fics, don't hesitate to let me know! You can do so anonymously via Tumblr. :)_

_‘Are We Alone?’_ read the billboards, read the posters on the door, read the tickets in their hands—

They pass the tickets to be torn apart at the entrance, take the bracelets to be fixed, in turn, onto each other’s wrists, and then, they take each other’s hands and _do not let go._ They intertwine their fingers, leave no space between their skin, and move through the rooms with quiet, murmuring reverence.

There are children screaming around them, other couples who laugh and kiss and ask, “Hey, wait, do you remember this? Yeah, they took our picture here in 5th grade! Oh, excuse me, miss? Excuse me—yeah, hi, sorry to bother you guys—could you snap us a picture? Thanks so much! It means a lot…”

Evie smiles as she hands back their cellphone, never once letting go of Carlos’ hand. “They’re cute together,” she tells him as the couple walks away. He hums a little bit in answer, though he’d barely even glanced them. _They’re not bright enough to shine here._ (Evie knows it, too, but she’s maybe _nicer._ )

Carlos leads her away from the bustle, toward a softer, darker corner.

They both press their noses against the glass of a display case full of moon rocks.

“You know,” says Evie in a voice like she’s going to admit to a secret, “I used to think they’d glow.”

Carlos turns his head and smiles at her. “Me too,” he says with a trace of laughter, a trace of bliss—

He is so enraptured by the beauty of this world above—no, _around_ them— _in every possible direction._

He is so awake that it feels like a dream he had, half-faded: the times they would climb up to Evie’s rooftop, spin in circles to take in the whole view and, not knowing better, they’d think those dusty specks and white streaks were the _same sky_ over Auradon, because—even if they’d known it _wasn’t,_ would they have believed it? _Even now,_ can they believe these stars are real and theirs to wish on?

Carlos grasps a little tighter at Evie’s hand.

 _‘ARE WE ALONE?’_ reads the sign above a tinted pair of double doors. They walk through together, push past the black curtains at the end of a short hall, and emerge into empty space—into darkness.

 _“For as long as human history,”_ begins a voice from out of shadows, _“we have asked this question to the sky and received no certain answer…”_ A light comes on in the far left corner to reveal a little green man with stiff mechanical arms. He waves at them, then flashes a peace sign, making Carlos snort a laugh as Evie starts to giggle softly. The narration continues as they move through the dark room, various corners lighting up in answer to their movements until, at last, they are ushered into brightness—

Evie blinks back the spots in her vision until all she can see are Carlos’ freckles. “Where to next?”

He’s about to answer when the speakers crackle and a pleasant voice announces, _“Don’t forget, your admission today includes access to our hourly planetarium show in the projection hall! The next show starts soon, at the top of the hour, so please take your place in line…”_ Carlos and Evie exchange a glance, and then they’re all but sprinting, trying to speak as they finally get to the door, but laughing too hard.

“Look,” says Evie when she’s better composed, pointing up to draw Carlos’ attention to the mural of planets above them. “There’s one missing,” she remarks with a frown. “What happened to Pluto?”

Carlos tilts his head, considering, then suddenly remembers: “Mr. Deley said Pluto got demoted.”

“Oh… right,” says Evie, her smile a little sad when Carlos happens to glance at her. He gently bumps her hip and her smile brightens a spark as she bumps back. They fall quiet as a line begins to form behind them. Their eyes wander between bodies and above the heads of passing school groups—

Their parents’ names are whispered on the lips of strangers who glance their way and _know them._

They both try not to hear it, try not to think if they also know that their _trash_ is what schooled them.

“Let’s go, ‘Los,” Evie murmurs when the doors are finally opened. He nods, and lets her lead him in, lets her pick the path right to the centre. “Here?” she asks with a soft smile, gesturing to a bean bag that is big enough for both of them. He nods again, then laughs with her as she pulls him down—

They lay shoulder-to-shoulder, their hands still entwined as they gaze up at the blank screen; then, Evie tilts her head to look at Carlos, so he looks at her, in turn, and the tips of their noses touch with how close they are lying together—

“This doesn’t really… feel real,” Evie confesses, squeezing Carlos’ hand as she’s saying it.

“But it has to be,” he replies with a faint smile, holding Evie’s gaze as her own smile turns quizzical.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…” Carlos shifts to where he’s half-sitting up, one arm braced on Evie’s other side to keep his balance as he leans in to whisper, “Nothing was this good on the Isle—” He kisses her cheek. “—not even what we dreamt about.” He pulls back as the speakers crackle overhead and a voice announces that the doors have closed—the show’s about to begin. (Evie is quiet, but her eyes never leave him.)

Then, the lights go down, and there’s a hush through the room, and they both look up into the dark as it takes on a thousand details. Soon, the ceiling is a sky, and a heady music filters in, and a voice is telling them to turn off their cellphones because, _“The doors of your world are about to be opened…”_

Their eyes go wide as they’re absorbed into star stuff and colour and void and _ancience._

They are almost _afraid_ to blink, not wanting to miss a moment of these twenty minutes in which they are free and able to fly—untethered from their past and the weight of their surnames. They are above it all—above kings and queens and golden cities. They have escaped together into a feeling like—

_We are infinite._

We are _immortal._

We are _of and among_ the stars.

AND WE HAVE BEEN FOREVER.

Then, the lights come on, and the projection fades, and Carlos turns his head to stare at Evie, who stares back at him, and _fuck_ if she’s ever been more beautiful than now in the glow of the exit lights.

Something breaks in him at the sight of her, after everything else, like dry earth splitting open.

He can feel the spit of rainfall on his cheek, feel that he’s crying for the first time he remembers—

“Oh, pup,” Evie whispers as the storm inside him worsens. “It’s okay, it’s okay…” She curls her body into his, drapes an arm around him, pulls him closer. He shivers violently as he grabs at her dress—clutches fistfuls of velvet blue like _he’ll never let go_ , and just... cries into her shoulder, _lets go, lets go…_

He doesn’t look up at the sound of footsteps or the gentle voice to which Evie replies, “Can you just give us a minute?” He doesn’t know how long it is before he’s ready to sit up, but when he does, he feels like fire, he’s so embarrassed. He wipes so hard at his eyes that he sees stars from the pressure.

Evie lets go of his hand to pull his hood up. “We can stop by the bathroom,” she tells him, leaving her arms to rest on his shoulders, her hands loosely joined behind his head. “Should we go now?”

He nods, though he doesn’t look at her. _Too embarrassed._

“Hey,” she says, slipping one hand off his shoulder to lift his chin. He meets her eyes, expecting her to say something, but instead she just leans in to kiss him beneath the shadow of his hood. His heart beats fast at the feeling of her lips against his. _Not panicking, not panicking, just a little caught off guard._

He pulls her down into the beanbag a moment later, his arms encircling her waist to bring her closer.

They kiss hard and deep until the door swings open and that gentle voice he’d heard before becomes suddenly cold and exasperated. “We’re going,” Evie promises with a laugh. She pulls Carlos up and onto his feet, takes his hand in hers and squeezes tightly. “Come on,” she murmurs, voice still thick with amusement and… a little something else. “Let’s stop by the bathroom.” She gives Carlos a look and he can’t help but grin despite the tear streaks. It’s just the strangest thing, you know, because—

If only for a fleeting wish of a moment, _it feels like the dome has cracked_.

_It feels like they’re in sunlight._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated, but no pressure. <3
> 
> Find me on Tumblr for lots more Descendants content: [@hersilentlanguage](http://hersilentlanguage.tumblr.com/).
> 
>  **CW (spoilers):** referenced/implied systemic abuse (strong parallels to real world issues, especially growing up in poverty), sudden and intense emotional reactions (crying in public; vaguely implied to be a reaction related to trauma), brief kissing/make-out scene.


End file.
